Today Show Redux … the Details You’ve Been Dying to Know

Everyone has asked. “Were you nervous? You didn’t look it, if you were.”

Yes, I was incredibly nervous the morning before I appeared on the Today Show for the first time.

I had gotten into NYC the night before and met Dave at our hotel, Le Parker Meridien. Good hotel, great location, and best price I could find on Hotels.com. ONLY $379/night compared to $600 plus for every other decent place in town.

Went to bed at a reasonable hour and woke up at 1:30a thinking it was time to get up. You know how it is when you have to get up early for something important, you are anxious about it and so wake up every hour thinking it’s time to get up? It was like that. Dave laughed at me and told me to go back to sleep.

Finally, it really was time to get up. 6am. Did my makeup and headed over to J Sisters International to get my hair done.

Although they don’t open until 9am, they open early for me and Vincent, my stylist, is there waiting. It’s so New York – a walk up four flights up and no elevator. At the top, an opulent salon with Italian fresco everywhere. (I don’t even know what Italian fresco is, but that’s what it seems like I should say about it – I’ll have video posted for you soon and you can tell me if I’m right).

Vincent makes my hair perfect and we are off to the studio.

Somehow, I lose track of time and we decide to stop for breakfast. Right before we get our food, I look at my watch and realize I need to be there in 10 minutes. Luckily, it’s just down the street. We get our food to go and walk over to 47th Street, where we are to enter through a non-descript office building.

As we near, I see all the tourists with their signs vying to get the camera to notice them outside the Today Show studios. It’s really happening.

We tell the security guards our names and then we’re in. Matt Lauer is standing by the elevator and says good morning to me. Wow, it’s real. I’m at the Today Show. We enter the Green Room, which isn’t green and a page whisks me away to hair and makeup and suddenly I’m nervous as hell.

I meet Elizabeth Mayhew, lifestyle contributor on the Today Show, who will be doing a segment about pillows, and she and I talk about book writing. She’s got a book coming out and tells me I should meet her agent. I’ve finally decided on the next topic for my book. I’d like to sell it before I write it, so that’s perfect. She gives me her email address.

Back to the green room where I see the drop dead gorgeous Natalie Morales, who seems to be as nice as she is pretty. And then, I wait.

At 9:30a, I’m whisked upstairs to the studio where Ann Curry and I will be taping the segment. It’s right next to where they tape the cooking segments. It’s freezing. I chat up the camera guys. I wait. I pace. Yes, I’m anxious. I review my points in my head. I never do that. But, today it’s Ann Curry and the Today Show. I never do that either.

Then, she’s walking in and we are rushing to get everything set before we go on. I mention her tribute to her dad and how it made me cry. She apologizes. I tell her no, thank you. I wish I could have done something like that for my dad when he died.

And then we have 30 seconds and it’s happening – Ann Curry is interviewing me.

It’s over before I know it.

Amanda, the producer of my segment, takes me down to the control room where I see the Senior Producer, who tells me I was great and invites me to submit more segment ideas. I have to hold myself back from submitting them to him right then and there.

Then, we’re back out on the street and it’s over. Nearly all the feedback I get is great, except …

Apparently, I looked as if I was wearing a maternity shirt.

Dave’s ex-wife is the first to mention it in a text to him. Before I can dismiss it as the mean comments of a hurt ex, Laura Lee, my Executive VP at FWPI says the same thing, so I know it’s true.

For the record, I’m not preggo and it wasn’t a maternity shirt. It was a very expensive shirt from BCBG with what I thought was a flattering silhouette. I can see now that it wasn’t the best choice, but if that’s the only error I made, then I did good. And, next time, I’ll work out a little before going on the Today Show.